Liberation
by Nature9000
Summary: When Krystal crashes into a familiar planet and nothing is heard from her, Fox flies out to Sauria and arrives in a horrifying village run by his old enemy General Scales. As he begins his search, he makes a grisly discovery that causes his rage to overta


Liberation

Disclaimer: I don't own Starfox, or the other thing.

A/N: I'm not going to mince words here, this covers an obvious adult topic um…this is inspired by a very disgusting, nauseating, horrible flash game that someone showed me. It made me sick to my stomach, it was about Krystal trapped with Sharpclaw on their planet and unable to escape and all I could think about is why isn't Fox coming to her rescue, so…I'm writing this because I couldn't stand what I was seeing….so this is the oneshot, done in Fox's perspective.

It should be said that I love Starfox, and to have seen Krystal in such a way…I just can't, I have to write this oneshot. I found one story where it seemed like maybe something good was going to happen but-but no, it was worse and, and no I have to write this. I have to clean my mind and my eyes. I am _not_ going to divulge the name of that monstrosity, just no. I wish I never saw it. I'm not going to say it here, some older people may or may not know it but it'll become obvious what has happened...also should say, trigger warning...

* * *

-TRAPPED IN HELL-

The orange fur on his face swayed with the cold breeze rushing against him as his ship's window pulled open. "The distress signal came from these coordinates." His piercing eyes peered down his muzzle and his lips rose as a peculiar musky scent penetrated the air. "Where is she?"

"McCloud?" A familiar voice came over his watch communicator. "Fox?" Fox looked down to see his longtime associate and friend, Falco, staring back at him. "Have you reached the destination?" His chest expanded slowly and he replied with a brisk nod.

"I didn't think I'd ever be back in Sauria again. To think she would have crash landed here…" It was hard to think of Krystal crashing her ship at all, she was one of the best pilots on the team, and one of the best fighters. Her telepathy seemed to aid in giving her more control of her surroundings. "Wherever she is, she has to be fighting. Has any word come in yet?"

"No. I'm afraid not. Her communicator is just not responding, either it's been deactivated or she is ignoring us."

"My money is on deactivated." Hell, they didn't even receive telepathic messages from her, which was of great concern. The first time they met her, it had been in response of her telepathic signals. "Something terrible happened to her. I don't know, but I just feel like something's truly wrong."

"You know her better than any of us. She wouldn't go to Sauria willingly, and those reptiles know her. They'd tear her apart on sight if they could."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Fox moved his hand towards the gun at his hip and he rose from the ship's seat. "I'll contact you when I discover something more." He jumped out of the ship and landed with a grunt. Dirt and grass rose like smoke around his boots and blew away with wind.

Fox let out a disgusted grunt when he clicked off the communicator. "Something's messing with her telepathy," he muttered under his breath. Extreme trauma could keep her from being able to focus, but he didn't want to alarm the team to this. Their own fears might get the better of them. "How many days has it been since she crashed? Four? Five?"

Krystal had been flying about space in order to calm down after a recent argument that seemed so trivial now that Fox could hardly remember what it was over.

His head was filled with worry and his heart was filled with fear, but he wasn't going to let that get the better of him. If Krystal was in some sort of danger, she needed him at his best.

"First, let's find your ship." The actual coordinates of the last known location before her ship vanished from the radar was only a mile or two north of where he landed, so Fox wasted no time getting to the location.

What he found was a sight that chilled his blood. There were impressions on the nose of the ship that looked like large reptilian feet, and then the window was shattered. "What the hell happened? Did a Sharpclaw jump on her plane or something?"

As he approached the ship, he was greeted by a sulfur scent that he could only guess was what was left of a fire.

To his pleasure, the ship's computer system appeared to be relatively attached, so he grabbed the wires and began to connect them to his communicator. The small screen lit up and the picture of the beautiful sapphire vixen popped onto the screen.

There was a look of distress on her face and she was breathing heavily while looking towards the window above her. He could see at least three shadows and heard a powerful banging noise.

"Fox," Krystal said with a huff, "Fox, if you get this message. I'm over Sauria, I've been ambushed by a fleet of Sharpclaw planes, they've jumped on my ship. I'm getting exhausted trying to push them off. I'm overwhelmed, but I'm going to try to keep them off me." His eyebrows moved together and his eyes enlarged at the sound of a shattering noise.

All of a sudden a large green fist flashed before the screen and struck Krystal. His heart stopped and he watched her head fall against the side of the ship. Her shoulders sank and her eyelids fell halfway. "Have to keep awake," she muttered, "Fox. Please. Get this message. Fox I…I love you."

His eyes widened as he saw the reptile's hand grab her by the throat and begin to yank her from the ship.

Just before the plane crashed, Krystal turned her head and shot a glare at the reptile, forcing it and its fellow lizards to fly away. Then the image shut off, leaving Fox speechless with rage simmering inside.

"Of course," he whispered harshly, "Of course it would take a horde of them to beat her." She had to still be alive and fighting, there was no doubt in his mind she was fighting. Her ship was nothing but scrap now, so she would have to find a way to escape.

Fox's ears twitched at the sound of a vicious roar. He turned his head and saw a tall reptile clad in armor walking along a cobblestone path. It held a spear in his hand and despite the spiked shoulder pads and chestpiece, was wearing nothing but a loincloth.

Thinking fast he jumped into a nearby bush and narrowed his eyes as he peered through a small hole in the brush. His right hand gripped Krystal's staff that he'd attached to his back. The last time he was here on Sauria, he used it in order to rescue her-she wasn't thrilled about him using the staff but eventually became okay with it.

These days she let him use it as a weapon of his own if he went out on patrol and so desired to use it, though she was still in the process of getting a craftsman to make a separate one just for him.

A shiver of disgust ran down his spine as he watched the drool fall from the Sharpclaw's mouth. "Maybe this one knows where Krystal is." He raised an eyebrow when he glanced at the loincloth, it looked as though it were being pushed up between the thighs. "You have got to be shitting me. Where the hell did she crash? The land of freaks walking around butt naked?"

The reptilian creature turned his head and uttered a low growl. It was then Fox noted a second rumbling sound and looked down the path to see a second, similarly dressed reptile walking down but without its loincloth.

His heart stopped and his stomach began to curl with disgust. "This one will please General Scales," said the second. Fox grit his teeth and his hand tightened around the staff. "She is a fighter."

"She will be broken, they all break. Scales will break her."

A pit grew in his stomach as he tried to analyze what the reptiles were saying. Fox moved his hand to his chest, where he felt a sudden tight pain shooting across him.

"Scales will truly enjoy this one, he has dreamed of his revenge since they made their escape. She may fight as much as she wishes, but even the strongest fall sometime."

"Fucking bastards." Without thinking, Fox lunged from the bush and swung his staff towards the startled reptiles. A blast of fire shot out and lit up the second reptile while he grabbed his pistol and fired a laser shot into the chest of the first.

As the first fell, Fox charged the second-holding his staff horizontally in front of his chest with both hands. He slammed it into the reptile's throat and plunged his knee into the creature's groin with as much force as he could muster.

"You better not be talking about Krystal. What have you done with her?" The reptile squirmed on the ground, screaming as the fire began to spread across the green bumps of his skin. "Where is she? Answer me!"

The reptile stopped for a moment, flicking his long tongue out and turning his lips into a vicious grin. "You'll never find her. Once we've broken her, she will be nothing more than a shell."

"What?" The fire reflected in his eyes as the rage inside of him burned just as bright.

"All of the warriors in the village will lie with her, make her ready for General Scales. What he does with her after that, we do not know, but not many have survived him."

His hand began to tremble as the image of his beloved vixen being mercilessly tortured by these creatures began to poison his mind.

Unable to rationalize this, he grabbed his gun once more in a moment without thought and placed it into the reptile's mouth. "You will fucking pay. If any of you have laid a hand on her, I will take every last one of you out."

The reptile started to laugh and spread his arms out and away from his sides. "I personally enjoyed every inch of the princess as she begged for mercy." The creature sneered and Fox's body shook with disgust and horror.

His finger tensed on the trigger and a loud bang echoed in his ears as blood and pink bits splattered from the creature's head. "I refuse to believe this," Fox growled, "There's no way in hell she'd give in. No. Absolutely not, you'll never break her."

He holstered his gun, wiped the blood and brain from his face and pushed himself up. "Hang in there, Krystal. Wherever you are, just keep fighting."

Fox grasped the staff firmly in his hand and stared down at the corpse, still reeling with disgust and shock as he tried to fight the image of his fiancé being harmed in any way by these creatures-especially in the manner implied.

With a sneer he dug the tip of the staff into the chest of the corpse, let out an angry shout and watched as the body exploded in a burst of fire.

To his right was a sign that pointed the way to a village. Fox took a deep breath and made his approach, clenching his bloodied gloves into fists.

As he walked he saw numerous disgusting sights that made his heart sink into his stomach and the bile rise to his throat. It was enough to drive him to vomit, despite all the horrible things that he'd seen in his many years of war.

Nearby was a Mermaid-like woman bathing in the lake, washing off the reptilian filth from her. As he passed her by, he could see another reptile degrading one of its kind.

"God, what am I seeing? Even Andross would never subject his victims to this-this senselessness." They were animals, devouring their pray as though they were nothing. His fears of what could have happened to Krystal were only intensifying. If she were going through this hell, then he had to get her out.

There was a bar with wooden swing doors like an old country saloon. Fox entered without a word and his shadow stretched across the floor. To his right were two reptiles standing at a table, torturing one of their victims. To his left was a bar where a nude female lizard stood behind. The sight disgusted him, but he kept a stoic expression on his face.

This place was too horrific to tell his team about, but they were going to have to hear. He clicked his communicator and raised his wrist towards his muzzle, waiting until Falco appeared. "Falco, when I get Krystal out of here. Tell General Pepper we're planning a massive airstrike on this part of Sauria. These…these monsters…" His trembling voice broke and he started to choke over his words.

"What's going on over there?" Falco asked with a high note of concern. "Why would we plan an airstrike?"

"I'll let you know. If anyone can be…salvaged from this mess." He turned his wrist towards the two reptiles at the table and heard Falco cuss. "Listen, I don't know exactly if Krystal's been through anything, but if she has, do not talk about it. Do you understand me? This…This isn't something she'll want to relive."

"I uh, I-where in the hell did you land, Fox?"

"You remember General Scales?"

"I thought you killed that son of a bitch."

"I thought so too." He raised his head and twitched his nose. "If he's so much as lays a finger on Krystal…"

"Do you need me to fly over there?"

"No." It would take Falco at least a couple days to get there, and he was certain to find Krystal before then.

He approached the barmaid carefully, keeping his sharp eyes with her bright yellow gaze. "What can I get for you, handsome?" she hissed. "I'm surprised a male of a different species is walking around this village and hasn't been killed yet."

Fox sat on the stool, praying it was clean, and folded his forearms on the bar. "I'm not worried." He knew the reptiles were watching him, he could feel their suspicious glares burning into him, but they seemed to be far too distracted to bother. "As it would happen, I'm looking for information."

No matter what, in every planet he ever visited, he knew bartenders were a treasure trove of information.

The woman's eyes dropped down and she leaned forward, speaking in a seductive manner. "What do I get for it?" He raised his eyebrows, acknowledging what she was suggesting, and pulled the corner of his lips into a smirk.

"What do you get? Oh, I'll tell you what you get…" He leaned towards her, watching her lips slide into a slick grin. With his right hand he raised his staff up, and with his left he pointed. "Tell me where my mate's at." His glare sharpened and the woman jerked back-her eyes grew large and her jaw fell open. "You, and the rest of the people in this tavern don't get blown into a million tiny bits."

"You wouldn't dare."

"A couple of your guards outside? Yeah, they told me something they may or may not have done to her. One has a hole in his chest and the other has permanently lost his head…along with every other part of his body."

"I-You-I don't understand, are you not the slightest bit intrigued by my…"

"What?" He sneered and looked towards her scaly body. "Reptiles just aren't my type." The two dinosaurs behind him began to emerge from their location, growling as they neared him. Frustrated and not willing to be bothered, Fox pointed his staff at them and growled as a powerful icy blast overtook them.

The barmaid gasped out and Fox jumped onto the bar, then pointed the staff at hr. "Information. Now. And don't you dare proposition me again. I've got one person on my mind and it sure as hell isn't you."

"No, wait! You don't understand." The woman dropped to her knees and held her hands up, clasping them together. "I've lived my entire life like this. All the females in this village have, we don't have a choice." He squinted and tilted his head to the right.

"Don't have a choice? What do you mean?"

"Here in this village, General Scales…Scales declares that we females are to meant only for breeding. The warriors…we are to lie with them whether willing or not." His muscles tensed and the features in his face grew tighter.

"Is there anyone among your warriors that can be saved? Because I swear to god if you've hurt Krystal…I've got a militia waiting to take your entire village out." It wasn't often that he arrived at such a threat, but just the things that he saw while walking gave the impression that this village needed to be wiped off the map.

"I'm sure there are some. You wouldn't really wipe us out?"

He pushed the staff towards her, sneering angrily. He watched a powerful tremble rush over the woman as she bowed her head and began sniveling.

Seeing this and thinking on what she was saying, he began to relax his muscles. These women grew up knowing nothing but warrior dominance, the last thing they needed was him shoving a staff in their face.

"I'm sorry." He attached the staff to his back and jumped off the bar with a huff. The woman looked up, gasping softly. "It isn't your fault. I'm angry because what I'm seeing. What those guards told me…"

Fox removed his vest and handed it to the woman, asking that she wear it. "Your mate? Purple fur, white belly?" He smiled sadly and nodded. The woman bowed her head and dropped her shoulders. "Scales doesn't like her, he's ordered her 'broken' by the warriors and wants her delivered to him. He intends to take what's left of her spirit. He's going to enslave her."

A vicious rumbling sounded off in his stomach, turning him into a near dormant volcano. He pulled his hand over his abdomen and closed his eyes, breathing in deep and slow in order to remain calm.

"Please. I beg you. The women in this village…some are loyal to the warriors, but most want nothing to do with this place. He will kill us if we try to run." He could see the terror in her eyes-a sign of truth. His anger turned to sympathy, though he didn't know what to do.

"Is there anywhere you can go?"

"No. The wolves outside the village are worse and more terrifying than the sharpclaw, so we are too frightened to leave this village."

"Krystal has been here-has anyone tried to help her?"

"Just Elizabeth. Most of the warriors have tried to have their way, but she's been fighting them. Some have…I'm not certain if any have, I think at least one warrior was strong enough to overpower her." He choked on his saliva and his hand tensed around the staff. "She continues to fight, but we can see it in her eyes, she's beginning to lose hope."

"Where is she? I need to get to her." Were any of the warriors here able to be saved? He couldn't tell. "I will fight my way to her if I must."

"You may have to. The warriors caged her and took her to the cave…the cave of the Red Eye King." His heart stopped and in an instant the giant tyrannosaurus rex flashed in his head.

"I…" A shiver ran down his spine and he began to growl. "I killed that thing. I'm certain of it."

"Almost. Scales found him near death and resuscitated him using the women of the village." Fox raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't tell me…just don't." He dropped his hand and looked up to the skies. "That's it. I'll kill every monster here if I have to, no one else is going to touch her." He wanted to ask how many had managed to overpower her, but part of him didn't want to know. "This must be why we haven't had any telepathic communication with her. I'm going to kill those assholes."

He spun his staff with his hand and swung it into the frozen warriors, slicing through their heads. The barmaid threw her hands to her mouth and Fox shot her a glare.

"Which way?"

"That way." She pointed out the second door. "Several miles that way." With that, Fox took off, fueled with anger and adrenaline. His ears were flat and pointed behind him and his eyes focused on the path in front of him.

He eventually came upon a muscular reptile shoving a female onto the ground. "Enough!" He swung his staff towards the startled reptile and thrust it into the creature's chest. Fox then pointed his gun to the creature's groin and fired off two shots.

As the reptile sank to the ground, Fox removed his black shirt and handed it to the stunned woman. "Who are you?" The woman asked.

"Fox McCloud. I'm here for my mate." Fox heard a growl and glanced down to see the reptile writhing in pain and sneering at him. "So that didn't kill you?" He knelt and stared back into the demon's eyes. "If you survive, send Scales a message. Krystal's mate is on his way, and he is pissed. When I find Scales, I'm going to tear every part of him to shreds."

Fox continued his pursuit and just as he neared the mouth of the cave he caught a large shadow above him. When he looked up, a huge lizard was leaping over him with a battleaxe raised above his head.

His pulse quickened and he rolled to the right just in time to avoid being crushed or sliced by the creature. When he rose and turned, the reptile let out a grunt and started to raise the axe. "You don't speak much. I don't suppose you can tell me a reason why this village shouldn't be wiped off the face of this planet?"

The warrior grunted once more and made his approach. He was incredibly slow, but his swings were powerful.

Fox raised his staff horizontally, catching the downward swing of the axe. It pushed him back a bit, but he pushed back, clenching his teeth and tightening his muscles. "I don't think so."

He pushed forward, growling as he put most of his strength into his effort. As the warrior moved back, he began turning his body and the staff to point towards the warrior.

"You lose." A burst of flame shot out and engulfed the warrior, forcing it to stagger backwards. To Fox's dismay, the creature was still standing and shrugging off the fire.

Fox braced himself for another attack, but was thrown off guard by an enormous bellowing that echoed from the cave. As he turned his head, he saw the giant dinosaur emerging. "Oh shit."

All of a sudden two lasers shot from the sky, striking the dinosaur and the warrior. Fox leapt back, landing on his feet and bending with his hand touch the ground. "What the hell?" He threw his head up and saw Falco's arwing soaring high above him. "How?"

His communicator buzzed and Falco appeared on the screen. "Thought you could use some help, Fox."

"How did you get here?"

"I've been flying behind you in the search. Did you think you were the only one looking?"

Fox laughed nervously and watched Falcon fly his ship in a circle around them. "Go get Krystal, I'll handle dumb and dumber."

"I owe you one."

"Like you haven't said that before."

Fox chuckled once and ran into the mouth of the cave just as Falco fired off some more shots. The dinosaur's roar was almost distant now as he continued the approach.

Towards the end of the cave he saw her. Krystal was curled up and looked like a ball of purple fur. Her fur was damp and her eyes were staring blankly at the cave wall. "Krystal! Oh god!"

She jerked her head back and he saw a glimpse of light returning to her gaze. "F-Fox? You came for me." He knelt beside her and let her throw her arms around his neck.

He pulled his arms around her, holding her close as she started to weep. "I fought them the best I could Fox. I-I did the best I could. One of them-Fox, they're so horrible. Scales.0 I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."

"It's okay." He kissed the top of her head and tightened his embrace around her. Her chest was bare and she smelled of reptile. His blood was boiling out of control. "It's not your fault. I'm not angry. I'm here to get you out."

"I'm not weak. I swear I'm stronger than this."

"No, you're not weak. This isn't your fault." Krystal leaned back, looking in his eyes as though searching for something. He gave her a warm smile and cupped her left cheek in his hand. "I love you, Krystal. Always."

"Scales said you wouldn't love me anymore. He said after all this you'd hate me, that I was nothing."

"No. No that couldn't be further from the truth." He kissed her forehead and Krystal placed her head on his chest. "You're the best thing to happen to me. I couldn't ask for a better vixen to share my life."

"They're monsters Fox. Every one of them. They tried-oh god they tried to-"

"Shh. I know." He ran his hand along the back of her head and closed his eyes, sighing as she wrapped her arms around him. "Where is Scales now?" Krystal jerked her head back and her eyes widened. "Krystal?" The girl started to whimper and he could feel her trembling. "Okay, I'm getting you out of here."

He helped her to her feet and walked her to the cave's exit, fearful that Scales could be around the corner.

When they reached the exit, Fox was pleased to see Falco landing his plane before them. The giant dinosaur and the large guard were dead on the ground. "God they were rough," Falco said upon leaving his ship. "What have they been feeding them?"

"It's not important." Fox wrapped a protective arm around Krystal and Falco looked to her, cursing under his breath. "Krystal? Can anyone in this village be saved? Because I'm considering nuking this damned village."

"No, just the women." Krystal clung to him, burrowing her face into his shoulder. "They can be saved but the warriors? Oh god the warriors…" Fox walked with her towards Falco, stopping when he heard a scratching noise.

When he turned his head he saw the large general standing at the mouth of the cave. General Scales had a metal claw on his hand and a virulent sneer across his face. "Where are you going with my prize, McCloud?" Fox growled and Krystal started to whimper.

It was going to take some time for her to get back to fighting shape, but he knew she could. "Nowhere you need to worry about, Scales." He guided Krystal into the plane. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow at him as he pat Falco on the back. "Get her to safety, Falco. Safety above all else."

"No," Krystal reached her hand out and shook her head. "Fox don't leave me. Please." Her eyes brimmed with tears and Fox turned to her, smiling warmly.

All of his pride and rage didn't allow him to flee. This was more than just about Krystal, with all that he'd seen in this village. "Nothing's going to happen to me Krystal, I'm not going anywhere."

"I love you. I don't want anything to happen."

"It will be okay. I have to do this." She whimpered and bowed her head. "Those women in the village are in danger too." She raised her head and her lips curled into a faint smile. "I thought I defeated Scales a long time ago." He caressed her cheek and pulled his eyebrows together. "I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner…"

Krystal raised her hand over his and closed her eyes. "Be safe, Fox. I…I should fight with you, I need-"

"You need to be safe." Krystal hated to be left out of a fight, but this was one of those times where he felt her safety was more important than her drive to be in a fight. Especially considering what these monsters had done to her, she was hurting and while she could trounce them, Scales may try to get inside her head.

He kissed her nose and pulled his hand back. Falco looked over and he snapped his fingers at the bird. "Falco, look after her. That's an order."

"You're ordering me?" Falco smirked and saluted him. "I'll keep her safe. No worries."

Fox turned around as Falco climbed into the driver's side of the plane. He grabbed the staff from the holder on his back and bared is teeth at Scales. "What did you do to her? She's been through hell."

"You're welcome." Fox's growl erupted from deep in his chest. Scales closed is eyes and leaned back. "Oh she was so sweet and tender. A fighter usually is." Fox removed the staff from his back and a sneered at the reptile.

"You're going to die, General Scales." He spun the staff slowly with his hand and slid his right foot forward. "When I'm through with you, you're going to be the one begging for mercy." He extended his arm and stretched the staff out as though it were an extension of his hand. The end of the staff sparked with electricity and shimmered with fire.

Behind him Falco's plane began to rise. Scales turned his head up and let out a frustrated growl. Fox turned his head and smiled when he saw Krystal looking out the window. Her palms were pressed against the windshield and her eye were filled with concern.

"You'll live to regret this infiltration," Scales said abruptly. "You will pay."

"Oh? I'm almost certain you'll be the one. I thought I killed you before, but this time…" His eyes darkened and the pitch of his voice lowered into a deep and haunting note. "Because this time I'll be sure to double check and set your corpse on fire."

"Aw, are you upset because I screwed the bitch?" His lip twitched and his hand tightened around his staff. Scales spread his arms out and started laughing.

Fox took the moment to rush Scales. He slammed his staff into the ground and started to pole vault. He kicked his legs out and slammed his boots into the reptile's throat.

His teeth ground together and he landed with bent knees, watching the large reptile stagger back. In a swift move he punched his staff forward, twisting the right end to strike Scales, then striking the man with the left end.

Fox leapt twisted his body, swinging the staff in a 180 degree arc. Scales raised his metal claw with an angry huff and caught the staff with the hooks. "Ass," Scales breathed heavily and swung his fist into Fox's gut.

The vulpine crashed to the ground and flung onto his back, looking out just as Scales started swinging his metal claws down towards him. Thinking fast, he twitched the staff in his wrist and fired a volt of electricity into the loincloth around Scales's waist.

The general roared out a shout of pain and dropped to his knees. He bared his fangs, and Fox leapt up to his feet. He wiped the sweat from his brow and thrust the staff tip towards Scales in an attempt to psyche him out.

The fake-out worked and Scales lurched his head away enough that Fox could swing the staff sideways and strike the General in the head.

Sensing a presence nearby, Fox turned back around to see several warriors glaring ferociously at him. "Oh. Hello." He attached the staff to the holster on his back and grabbed his gun from his hip. "Come on. Show me how strong you bastards really are."

A ring of fire surrounded his feet and he shot into the air just as two warriors rushed him. Fox twisted his body around, pointed the laser towards them and fired two shots into the back of their heads.

Scales slammed his fist into the ground, hunched over with his knees digging into the dirt. "Kill him, you imbeciles." Fox landed with a huff and breathed in deep. A warrior rushed him from behind, swinging a large sword towards him. Instinctively he grabbed the staff and swung it outwards, deflecting the blade from behind.

His eyes shot to the corners and he wrapped his gun arm around his stomach, pointed the gun past his side, and fired a shot into the reptile that shot at him. "You dumb reptiles really have no brains. Why am I not surprised."

Their primary tactic was to overwhelm the target, and that was the only way they managed to get Krystal. He knew it now. "I can't believe you shitheads manage overwhelm her." The crash exhausted her, that much was certain. "You picked a bad time to come fight me. You see, I'm in a bad mood and I want to kill every last one of you pricks…and I'm going to do just that."

He thrust the staff forward, piercing into the indenture of one of the creatures' neck. The smell of blood and smoke filled the air as fire burst from the staff. "Die." Fox turned himself, slicing the staff through the air and slashing into the leg of another reptile.

The adrenaline in him burned bright and kept him active. One of the warriors managed to strike him in the back, but his muscles tightened and he shrugged the pain off while swinging the staff into the reptile's wrist and causing it to drop the blade.

On reflex he picked up the blade and rushed the demon, swinging the sword overhead and down upon the creature's head-splitting it in two.

By the time he was finished, he stood among the bodies with blood coating his fur. His torso seemed to grow and shrink with every heavy breath that fell from his lips. In his right hand he clutched the staff, and in his left he held the sword once owned by the creature he cut down.

Before him, Scales was seated and staring at him with wide eyes. Fox raised the sword, pointing the tip at the demon. In his mind he pictured Krystal in the position he found her, beaten and abused, and his rage increased as a growl fell from his lips. "You're next, Scales."

Fox stepped forward, glaring down the monster. "Be glad I don't cut off your genitals and feed them to you."

Scales raised his arm before his face and turned his head. "Is there no room for mercy, McCloud?"

"Mercy?" He slammed the blade into the ground and rushed to Scales, pinning the general to the ground with the staff at his neck. Fox leaned dangerously close, glaring into the general's eyes. "Like you showed Krystal mercy? Like you show the women in your village mercy? You have the gall to ask me for mercy"

A wild look shone in his eyes as he began pushing the staff down, crushing the general's neck. "Who do you think you are to ask me for mercy? Huh?" He raised his voice, shouting into Scales's ear. "Tell me why I should show you mercy. Tell me!"

"Because you've won. You've bested me."

"The last time I beat you, I thought it was done. You attacked her, your entire village-the things they've done." His body shook and he began to sense a loss, as though his own actions were contradicting him. He hardly cared, he knew this demon had to die. Not like this, though. If he did this, he was no better than Scales himself.

His lips rose to reveal his bared teeth, the veins in his neck and his hands started bulging and his head started to ache. Fox saw Scales writhing beneath him, he could hear the man gasping for air, and knew it was only a matter of time before the reptile suffocated to death.

"No." This wasn't what Krystal would want. No matter how angry he'd become, this was murder. Scales had given up and was begging for mercy. Even if he didn't deserve mercy, Fox knew this was wasn't right.

Frustrated, his roar filled the air and he yanked the staff away from the devil's throat. Scales threw his hand to his neck and his eyes shot open as he took a sudden breath.

Fox turned away, disgusted with himself, and he reattached the staff to his back. "You live for now, but I'm going to send mercenaries to liberate the people in this village."

He turned his back to the general and looked ahead, freezing on the spot when he saw Krystal standing outside Falco's plane. "Krystal?" He hadn't heard the sound of Falco landing the ship again. Krystal smiled sadly and lowered her hands from her mouth.

"Fox."

He spread his arms out and looked around at the fallen warriors. "I'm sorry Krystal. I…I lost control."

"It's…it's okay. That wasn't you." She stepped forward and he saw her eyes dart away, looking past him. He twisted around to see Scales on his feet rushing towards him with his claw raised high in the air.

The attack was so sudden he didn't have time to react. He crossed his arms in front of his face and tensed up. He felt a breeze and heard the sound of something slicking past him. When he opened his eyes he saw Scales standing in place with his head tilted back.

The sword he'd taken from one of the creatures had been thrust into General Scales's mouth and exited out the back of his head. There was a white aura around the blade, and blood was gushing around the hilt.

"Wha…" Fox turned his head. Krystal had a serious expression on her face with tears pouring from her eyelids. Her right hand was stretched out and a white aura was pulsating from her hand. "Krystal."

She dropped her hand and took a single shaky step towards him, followed by a second and then a third. She collapsed into his arms and threw her arms around his waist, holding him as tight as she possibly could. Her face buried into the hairs on his chest, just beneath his chin, and her body was vibrating against his.

"It's okay." He held her close, keeping her in his protective embrace. "You're safe now."

"I told Falco to bring me back. I-I couldn't just leave you alone here with these…these monsters. I don't want to lose you, I can't lose you. I-I just can't. I can't let them take you from me. I can't."

"You won't, you haven't." He turned his eyes to Falco's ship and kissed Krystal's head once more. "Let's get you out of here." Her paws closed around his fur, and her head pressed further into his body.

Within a matter of days General Pepper sent out soldiers at Fox's request to liberate the women of the village. Those who were still loyal remained while those who wished to leave were free to do so.

Some of the remaining warriors gave a fight, but those that challenged the soldiers in combat were quickly taken into custody or shot on the spot depending on how serious of a threat they posed.

Meanwhile Fox remained at Krystal's side, trying to do his best to be understanding of what she was dealing with. She made great bounds over time, healing and becoming stronger as she put the traumatic ordeal behind her. It was difficult however, and but they could work on that together.

Fox had become more protective of her and she made sure to watch everything around her with greater alertness than before, but for now and the future, General Scales and the demons of Sauria were no longer a threat to them or anyone else.

* * *

Now that that's out of my system, I am relieved. Do you think Fox should have taken that final blow, or do you think had he killed Scales he would have lost himself? What are your thoughts throughout this?


End file.
